<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Bolt and Keeper Halloween Special: The Spectral Village by jbhughes54enwiler</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27303448">Bolt and Keeper Halloween Special: The Spectral Village</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbhughes54enwiler/pseuds/jbhughes54enwiler'>jbhughes54enwiler</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bolt and Keeper [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Dragons, Gen, Ghosts, Halloween Special, Major Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, POV Original Character, SandWings (Wings of Fire), scavenger - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:34:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,112</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27303448</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbhughes54enwiler/pseuds/jbhughes54enwiler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bolt and Keeper travel to the ruins of an old scavenger den after hearing about paranormal occurrences happening there.  When Keeper is captured by supernatural forces, Bolt will have to stand up to one of his biggest childhood fears to save his friend.  Welcome to the semi-canon Bolt and Keeper Halloween Special!  We will return to the main story soon.</p><p>Also, quick warning, this story, in the spirit of the holiday, is a bit scarier than the main story.  Frightening moments are going to be more common than the main series. </p><p>Happy Halloween!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bolt and Keeper [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722475</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bolt and Keeper Halloween Special: The Spectral Village</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>BOLT AND KEEPER HALLOWEEN SPECIAL</p><p> </p><p>THE SPECTRAL VILLAGE</p><p> </p><p>BY JBHUGHES54ENWILER</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Fog hung heavy over the trees as Bolt walked through the forest, his flashlight clasped firmly in his hand, and in his other, he unfolded a map, trying to trace his path with his eyes in the darkness. He couldn’t figure out <em>where </em>on the map he was. This greatly concerned him, as the Sun had set some time ago and there was no telling what might be stalking the woods at this hour. He needed to find a safe place to shelter for the night, and fast.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt shone his flashlight around the woods, looking for any spot that could serve as a place to camp at. Finding no satisfactory location, he continued walking.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt was beginning to get nervous. Some shadows in the brush alongside the trail seemed to be shifting around… And he swore he could see eyes glinting in the darkness. His heart pounding, he picked up his pace. He illuminated the path ahead with his light…</p><p> </p><p>And stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his path was blocked by a massive shape. Bolt saw antlers reaching up into the branches, and its pitch-black hide quivered as it stamped its hooves into the moist soil.</p><p> </p><p>“N-no! Not you!” Bolt was terrified. He scrambled for his bow, and found that it was missing from his backpack, along with his knife. He was defenseless.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt backpedaled, trying to escape the monstrous cervine, but found his escape route blocked by a wall of antlers. He fell to the ground and curled up into a quivering ball of panic as the Black Buck stalked towards him.</p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t real, this isn’t real…” Bolt chanted over and over…</p><p> </p><p>The deer got close enough that he could hear its savage panting. Bolt covered his eyes, not wanting to watch it lurch any closer. He felt the antlers pierce his shirt, and he was lifted off the ground, his legs flailing around in his panic.</p><p> </p><p>“S-stop it… Please!” Bolt cried as he struggled desperately.</p><p> </p><p>The deer didn’t respond, and finally, it rushed forward, driving Bolt’s back towards the spikes behind him.</p><p> </p><p>And moments before his demise, Bolt jolted awake.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt deliriously looked around his shelf in Keeper’s house, not quite registering yet that he had been experiencing a nightmare. Apparently, Keeper had heard him tossing around, though, for he entered the storage room soon after his awakening.</p><p> </p><p>“Another dragon nightmare?” He asked.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt was still lost in his near-death experience, shivering slightly. He didn’t respond.</p><p> </p><p>“Bolt, you’re even more shaken than usual. How bad was it?”</p><p> </p><p>“B-Black Buck…”</p><p> </p><p>“What? Bolt, please, you’re scaring me with how frightened you are.” Keeper nuzzled Bolt with his snout, which only served to terrify Bolt even more, and the human screamed in terror.</p><p> </p><p>“Bolt! Bolt, it’s me, Keeper!” Keeper picked Bolt’s wildly shivering body up in his talons and cradled him like he once saw a human mother in Sanctuary do with her “baby.” “Please calm down, Bolt, you’re safe here!”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt’s eyes shot to Keeper’s face. He stared into his friend’s eyes, and he began to realize that he was no longer in danger, that he was safe with his mighty dragon companion. And hearing his voice always had a calming effect on him. “G-good morning, Keeper,” Bolt said, as he placed his hand on his friend’s nostril in greeting.</p><p> </p><p>“Good morning to you too, Bolt. Now, why don’t we talk about what had you so riled up? I’ve never seen you so scared.” Keeper sat down in front of Bolt’s shelf and placed the human, still wrapped in his blankets, on the ground.</p><p> </p><p>“Given what I’ve had happen to me in the past, getting scared is a pretty common occurrence for me. I have nightmares every other night!”</p><p> </p><p>“Were you getting chased by Crimson again?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, not him. I was being preyed on by something else.”</p><p> </p><p>“There’s other creatures that prey on humans?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, yeah. Bears’ll eat us if we infringe on their territory, but they don’t go out of their way to eat us the way dragons used to. But it wasn’t a bear that got me in that nightmare.”</p><p> </p><p>“What was it then?”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t judge me?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would I?”</p><p> </p><p>“I was being chased… By the Black Buck.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve never heard of such a creature.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s this big, dark-black deer, that eats meat. It hunts down any human who eats deer, and impales them with its huge antlers!”</p><p> </p><p>“Bolt, I think that’s a made-up animal. It’s fine, though, I used to make up monsters to be scared of too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well I really thought it was real! When I was younger, anyway. One night I swore I saw its eyes glaring at me from the woods when I was about to go into my tent. I was shivering in my sleeping bag till sunrise!”</p><p> </p><p>“Didn’t you have enough to be scared of when you were younger? I mean, dragons are everywhere, and until recently a lot of them would kill humans on sight!”</p><p> </p><p>“I was a human <em>child</em>, Keeper. A child with no caretakers, I might add! I’d go into a panic if the wind shifted a certain way!”</p><p> </p><p>‘I would guess being easily scared could be healthy, especially for humans. You’re so fragile that it would take very tight reflexes to prevent you from being killed.”</p><p> </p><p>“What are dragons scared of, then?”</p><p> </p><p>“Plenty of things, other dragons, natural disasters, supernatural occurrences, some of us are even afraid of humans, believe it or not.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’d be pretty confused if I saw a dragon get frightened of me. I mean, I’d be way more scared of him than he could possibly be of me.”</p><p> </p><p>“A lot of the time it had to do with how humans exhibit such dragon-like behavior that it rubs them as creepy. Of course, now that it’s established fact that scavengers are intelligent, many of these dragons with ‘anthropophobia’ either became even more scared of humans, or came to terms with their fear and joined the peace movement. One thing that <em>really </em>spooks dragons around here, though, is this one scavenger den to the northeast of us.”</p><p> </p><p>“Scavenger den… A human village? What’s scary about that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well… This den was destroyed by dragons about twenty years ago. There weren’t believed to have been any survivors, and no one thought anything of it.”</p><p> </p><p>“That sounds like that would be scarier for humans, not dragons.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m getting there. Anyway, it’s said that a young SkyWing went on a midnight stroll through the woods near the former site of the den… And she said she saw… Ghosts. Little scavenger ghosts, all over the place! She nearly got scared out of her scales, and she flew at top speed back to Possibility!”</p><p> </p><p>“What happened next?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, the next night, the SkyWing’s father, who was one of the hunters responsible for torching the village, went back to it past midnight to investigate… And he never returned. The whole town searched the ruined den top to bottom, and they didn’t find a single trace of him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Geez… That’s not good. I’m guessing the ghosts did <em>not</em> like that dragon, since he was one of the dragons responsible for their deaths… And because of that…” Bolt crossed his arms, “I don’t blame them.”</p><p> </p><p>“Anyway, since then there’s been an unwritten rule here in Possibility <em>never</em> to go to the old scavenger den past midnight. And everyone follows it.”</p><p> </p><p>“The ghosts only show up at midnight?”</p><p> </p><p>“We presumed so. Some dragons went there during the daytime and there was nothing suspicious going on. It was just an average torched human village. I’m surprised you don’t know anything about the village. Don’t your settlements communicate with each other?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just because I’m human doesn’t mean I’m aware of everything that happens to our species. Back when I was younger, our settlements got destroyed by dragons all the time. As bad as this sounds, we’re kinda used to hearing about our neighbors getting killed.”</p><p> </p><p>Keeper looked away. Bolt guessed he was feeling sorry for all the humans dragons had killed without a second thought. In Bolt and Keeper’s line of work they often had to deal with many dragons who genuinely didn’t care that humans were intelligent creatures and continued to slaughter them for whatever reason, or lack thereof, they had.</p><p> </p><p><em>It’s barbaric…</em> Bolt thought, <em>But I think if we try hard enough, we can convince even the worst of dragonkind that we’re not worthless prey.</em></p><p> </p><p>“Is this the only haunted village you’ve been told about?”</p><p> </p><p>“There’s been rumors about scavenger ghosts popping up for as long as dragons have been recording history. Though just like with dragon ghosts, even the most ‘reputable’ accounts of sightings of them are at least somewhat deniable.”</p><p> </p><p>“Say, I have an idea. You said that the ghosts were seen by a dragonet, but she managed to escape. But her dad, who happened to be a dragon responsible for destroying the village, disappeared when he went to look around?”</p><p> </p><p>“Exactly.”</p><p> </p><p>“Were there any other events where a dragon disappeared?”</p><p> </p><p>“None that I know of. But there’s a place we could check!”</p><p> </p><p>“Where?”</p><p> </p><p>“The best place to learn about anything! The library!”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt slapped his forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that!? Wait, Possibility has a library?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yep. I used to spend hours there as a young dragonet studying what we knew of humankind.” Keeper blushed. “Admittedly, now that I’ve known you… There’s a lot I should change in those scrolls.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, let’s get going! We have some paranormal research to do!”</p><p> </p><p>---------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>-Possibility Public Library-</p><p> </p><p>After Bolt dressed into his day clothes, consisting of Terran-made shorts and a t-shirt, Keeper, with Bolt riding on his back, departed for the library. It was on the SandWing side of town, close to the bridge over the river dividing the settlement.</p><p> </p><p>They walked through large double doors into the town’s knowledge repository. Bolt looked in awe at all the stacks of scrolls surrounding them. Terra had <em>long</em> ago abolished paper and books for publishing; everything at home was digital. But Pyrrhia was far behind Terra in its societal development, and the dragons hadn’t even invented books yet. (Though Pyrrhian humans had invented them)</p><p> </p><p>A librarian glared at Bolt, then turned her gaze to Keeper. “I’m sorry, sir, but pets aren’t allowed here.”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt went pale and felt offended. <em>Crud. I hadn’t thought about </em><em>whether humans were fully counted as citizens in Possibility yet.</em></p><p> </p><p>“Ms. Librarian,” Keeper said, “Bolt here isn’t my pet. He’s my friend. He’s--”</p><p> </p><p>“I acknowledge that you have a close bond with him,” The librarian interrupted, “But rules are rules, now--”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt took his turn at interrupting <em>her.</em> Not even bothering to use his telepathic translator, he spoke in fluent Dragon. “Ma’am? I’m not just some ‘animal.’ I’m an intelligent being with a desire to learn. Isn’t that what this place is here for? You know, learning?”</p><p> </p><p>The SandWing librarian went stiff, not quite believing what she had heard. “Uhhhh…” Was all that she had to say.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, Ms. Librarian?” Keeper asked, “You heard it from him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well… I… I suppose it’s alright. Don’t let him damage any of the scrolls, and take him outside if he has to relieve himself.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, ma’am!” Bolt said in Dragon.</p><p> </p><p>The librarian waved them off, and Keeper proceeded further into the building.</p><p> </p><p>“Nice work on speaking Dragon,” He whispered to Bolt, “Though we really need to work on your accent.”</p><p> </p><p>“You speak with a really weird accent when you’re using my language too,” Bolt said, “It’s probably natural. We’re not meant to speak each other’s languages; our vocal anatomy’s totally different. Anyway, where should we start? I’m not familiar with how dragon libraries are laid out.”</p><p> </p><p>“We should probably look in the ‘Town History’ section.”</p><p> </p><p>Keeper walked him over to the far side of the library, where a wall of scrolls even taller than Keeper himself waited. By Bolt’s rough measurements, Keeper was about eighteen feet tall, so it was impressive that the shelves managed to be even taller than him.</p><p> </p><p>Keeper looked up at the tall scroll-shelves. “Uh-oh. I can’t reach the high shelves.”</p><p> </p><p>Without saying a word. Bolt jumped off Keeper’s back onto a shelf.</p><p> </p><p>“Bolt!” Keeper whispered with a slightly panicked tone, “What are you doing!?”</p><p> </p><p>“If you tried to climb the shelf the whole thing would come down. But an itty-bitty human like me won’t tip it even a little! I’ll take the high shelves, you look at the scrolls on your level.”</p><p> </p><p>“Bolt, a fall from the top shelf would hurt you really badly!”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, who’s the primate with countless millennia of climbing experience in his blood here? I’ll be fine.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well… Okay. But please be careful!”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt climbed onto a scroll. They would make perfect footholds for him. He carefully stepped over, and soon established a rhythm climbing the shelf. When he was one level above Keeper’s reach, he began reading the titles on the scrolls he passed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Casualties of the War of SandWing Succession, The Great Fire of 4006 AS, The Greater Fire of 4550 AS, Archaeological Records of Possibility and its Vicinity, yeah, nothing here.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Bolt put a leg up on the scroll he was standing in front of and heaved himself upward, climbing to the next shelf. He looked over the titles here too. His grasp of the Dragon alphabet wasn’t perfect, so reading some of these scrolls’ labels was a chore. Unlike dragon speech, which his implant translated for him, he had to learn Dragon writing the old-fashioned way.</p><p> </p><p>After passing over <em>History of Relations Between Possibility and SandWing Royalty, </em>Bolt found a title that seemed to be what they were looking for.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Possibility’s Paranormal Heritage.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Keeper, I think I found something!”</p><p> </p><p>Keeper looked up at Bolt, something he never had to do before on account of their usual height difference. “Toss it down, Bolt,” Then his face scrunched up suddenly. “Carefully!” He added.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt gripped the end of the scroll, which was about half as big as he was, and carefully tugged the scroll out of its slot on the shelf. He continued pulling, as the space he had to stand on the shelf dwindled. Bolt tried to step aside to make more room for the scroll to come out… But he suddenly slipped.</p><p> </p><p>“Gaahhh!!” Bolt screamed, and he desperately latched his hand onto the scroll and dangled from it, far above the floor.</p><p> </p><p>Keeper’s eyes went wide with fear, and he quickly sprang into action. The scroll was tilted downward a ways by Bolt’s weight, and it was beginning to slip out from the shelf. Keeper reared up and raised his front talons onto the scroll-shelf, then tried to reach for his friend. He managed to grip onto his small body just as the scroll came completely out of its slot and fell to the floor.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt panted in Keeper’s talon as he lowered himself back to floor level. “Next time…” He breathed, “Let’s just call the librarian over to get it off.”</p><p> </p><p>Keeper set Bolt down on the floor, then went to pick up the fallen scroll. The fall hadn’t damaged it at all, thankfully. The two of them approached a study table, and the SandWing laid down the paper on it, and unrolled it. Bolt looked up at the table and determined that he wouldn’t be able to climb onto it.</p><p> </p><p>“Keeper? Little help?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure thing,” Keeper whispered, and he lifted him gently up onto the table.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt looked out at the scroll, which in its fully unwrapped state was the size of a small human-sized rug.</p><p> </p><p>“What does it say?” Bolt asked him.</p><p> </p><p>“Still looking,” He replied.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt read some of the heading. The scroll was written in talon-writing that was very difficult to decipher for a person inexperienced at reading Dragon script. Eventually he gave up and decided to allow Keeper to do all the reading.</p><p> </p><p>A few minutes later, Keeper looked up from the scroll. “Well, it says there was one further trip to the den after the SkyWing disappeared. According to this, they sent a SkyWing ‘spirit whisperer’ to the den to try and figure out why the ghosts were there. She did something called a ‘séance’ to talk to them… But she didn’t get very far.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why not?”</p><p> </p><p>“Obviously they were human ghosts. They spoke Scavenger. The whisperer was able to get their emotions, but she couldn’t understand what they were saying. She said that the ghosts were full of sorrow, but also angered by the destruction of their home. She could also detect that a curse had been laid on the ruins by the spirits. She couldn’t discern the exact nature of it… But she figured it had something to do with the disappearance of the SkyWing.”</p><p> </p><p>“I think we should go check out the village.”</p><p> </p><p>Keeper went pale. “Bolt… Are you sure that’s a good idea?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m a human, and you’re a friend to humans! I’m sure the ghosts won’t mind us!”</p><p> </p><p>“Bolt, I know you’re curious, but this could still be dangerous!”</p><p> </p><p>“If they try to hurt you I’ll talk them out of it. They’ll listen to me since I’m one of them. I’m also the victim of a dragon attack, several, in fact!”</p><p> </p><p>Keeper groaned. “Ugh, fine. I know better than to argue with you when your mind’s made up. But we won’t go too deep into the village. Just a quick look, and then we’ll leave. Let’s go home and wait for nighttime.”</p><p> </p><p>---------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Roughly three hours after sunset, (Which Bolt’s WristUnit read as “9:30 PM LPT”) Bolt and Keeper set out for the location of the ruined human village. According to the map on the scroll, it was located to the northeast of Possibility, about a two-hour flight for Keeper. Bolt had marked the village on his WristUnit’s GPS app, so they didn’t need to bring the scroll with them.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt clung tightly to that special spot where Keeper’s spine met his wing, a place on Keeper’s body that was perfectly shaped for humans to place themselves on a flying dragon, almost as if that specific part of their bodies had evolved specially for human riders. His friend soared over the transitional land between desert and mountain land. Bolt could barely see, since all three moons tonight were in a thin crescent phase, meaning barely any light shone down on the world.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you seeing okay right now?” Bolt asked Keeper.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I’m not going to lie… I’m not seeing too well. I’m not used to flying at night. How much farther do you think it’ll be?”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt opened his GPS, and checked his location relative to the waypoint he set. “We should be flying over it soon!”</p><p> </p><p>And about five minutes later, Bolt could see (just barely) an unnaturally cleared-out section of a forest below them. “I think that’s it!” Bolt told Keeper, and the dragon swooped down towards the ground.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt stepped off of Keeper as soon as he landed, and looked around. Immediately he felt uneasy. They hadn’t even entered the village yet… And already there was a strange aura in their surroundings… Something wasn’t right about this place.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt looked up at Keeper, and could see he was on high alert as well. Bolt took out his flashlight and turned it on at its highest setting. He pointed in the direction of the village silently, and the two of them set off towards the clearing.</p><p> </p><p>Nothing moved in the forest as they walked. Bolt drew a connection between their current scenery and the nightmare he had endured last night, and that caused his fear to ratchet up even further.</p><p> </p><p>“Bolt?” Keeper whispered.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p> </p><p>“I think we’re being watched.”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt shone his light around the woods, and found nothing. However, he could feel it now too; that unnerving sensation one felt when someone was staring at them.</p><p> </p><p>“Bolt, I think we should turn around.”</p><p> </p><p>“You said we would look in the village. We’re almost there; it’s too late to wuss out now.”</p><p> </p><p>And just around the corner was the village itself. Bolt and Keeper stepped tentatively into the ruins. Everything was still, and empty. Bolt shone his flashlight around.</p><p> </p><p>The dragons had done a good job of dismantling the human settlement. Bolt felt a little sick thinking of how many innocent human beings died here. Surrounding him were charred, rotting skeletons of houses where people just like him used to live. He spied a blackened, dead tree, wondering if children used to play around it just like he used to when he lived in a Pyrrhian village.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt felt like he was supposed to be scared, given this place’s reputation, but now Bolt felt an overwhelming sadness. He was reminded heartbreakingly of his childhood home, now gone forever.</p><p> </p><p>Keeper’s words from earlier in the day echoed: <em>“There weren’t believed to have been any survivors, and no one thought anything of it.”</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>No dragon thought anything of it… All those families gone in a flash. I have to keep reminding myself that those days are over, that most dragons now are trying to make peace with us… But they’ve done so many horrible things to our species… Would most humans be able to find it in their hearts to forgive them?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>And then Bolt suddenly broke through the ground, and cried out at the top of his lungs as he plunged down below the grass.</p><p> </p><p>“Ugh!” Bolt groaned as he hit the floor. He picked up his light, and shone it around. He was in a tunnel. Roots snaked along the walls, and the path in front of him was so pitch-black, even his flashlight was having trouble dispelling the darkness.</p><p> </p><p>“Bolt!” Keeper’s voice echoed from above, “Are you okay!? Where are you!?”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt looked up through the hole he had fallen through. He was pretty deep underground, it seemed. He was lucky he hadn’t broken anything from that long fall.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m down here!” Bolt called up to him. “I’m going to try to find an exit!”</p><p> </p><p>But just then, <em>something</em> covered up the hole he had fallen through, causing Bolt to gasp in shock. Now there was <em>no</em> light down here besides his flash beam, and suddenly, the tunnel felt more cramped. Bolt began to shiver with fear; he was <em>terrified</em> of tightly enclosed spaces.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, Bolt, just keep calm. There’s gotta be an exit somewhere…”</p><p> </p><p>He could hear footsteps approaching him, and his heart dropped into his stomach.</p><p> </p><p>“W-who’s there!? Show yourself!”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt frantically shone his flashlight around the tunnel. He looked behind him and…</p><p> </p><p>Nearly had a heart attack.</p><p> </p><p>It was right behind him, in all its dark antlered glory. All sharp teeth and glaring black eyes.</p><p> </p><p>The Black Buck.</p><p> </p><p>Too scared to even scream, Bolt immediately dashed, faster than he had ever ran, in the opposite direction from the monster. Right away he could hear it galloping behind him, and Bolt’s panic ratcheted up to insanity.</p><p> </p><p>“S-stay away from me!!” He screamed at it.</p><p> </p><p>The tunnel was beginning to get even narrower, causing Bolt’s claustrophobia to act up even further. With the adrenaline from <em>two</em> of Bolt’s greatest fears mixing together, Bolt was running at practically superhuman speeds toward what he desperately hoped was an exit.</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, ahead of him, the tunnel split in two. Bolt chose a branch at random and ran through it without slowing down.</p><p> </p><p>And ran straight into a dead-end.</p><p> </p><p>“N-no… No!!”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt turned around, and right away saw the Black Buck inches from his face, saliva dripping off its teeth.</p><p> </p><p>He had left his weapons at home. But he wasn’t going to lay down and let himself get killed. And at that moment Bolt graduated from flight… To <em>fight.</em></p><p> </p><p>Bolt, with all his strength, decked the Black Buck in the eye, causing it to flinch back in pain.</p><p> </p><p>“I’M NOT LETTING YOU GET ME!!” Bolt screamed as he landed a volley of blows into the creature, desperately defending himself from the monster.</p><p> </p><p>The Black Buck suddenly disappeared, and Bolt realized he wasn’t in a tunnel anymore…</p><p> </p><p>He was in a basement.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt looked around, startled at his sudden change in scenery, while still burning off adrenaline from his fight. The walls were no longer made from dirt and roots, but artificially laid stone. Some old wooden crates stood on the other end of the room from him.</p><p> </p><p><em>This is beyond understanding,</em> Bolt thought. He knew how far he had ran through that tunnel. There was no way this basement was that wide.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt had the feeling he was being watched again. “Okay, I’m serious now, who’s there!?”</p><p> </p><p>Something flashed in the corner of his eye. He looked behind him…</p><p> </p><p>And right there was a ghost.</p><p> </p><p>It was the spirit of a woman, wearing simple cotton clothing. She stared deep into Bolt’s eyes with what looked like curiosity.</p><p> </p><p>“Who are you…?” Bolt asked nervously, “Or should I be asking ‘who <em>were</em> you?’”</p><p> </p><p>The ghost said nothing, and instead she turned and approached a staircase leading to a cellar door. She disappeared through the door, and Bolt decided to follow her upstairs.</p><p> </p><p>He tried to open the door, but found that it was stuck tight. Bolt rammed his whole body into the door. That caused it to buckle a little. The wood on the door was rotting away. A few more hits would break it. Bolt went back downstairs, then turned around and charged up the stairs, ramming the door with his shoulder at full speed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Boom!!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Splinters flew from the door, and a large crack appeared in it. He could smell fresh air filtering through the crack, so it seemed this door opened into open air; it was likely the house above this door had been razed to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>“One more time!” Bolt shouted as he charged the door again. He flew up the stairs, and--</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Crack!!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Bolt burst through the door in a shower of wood pieces, and found himself standing in the ruins of a kitchen. Behind him was a barely-standing piece of the home that once stood here, holding up the only piece of the roof still left. He could see that it was wobbling from his forceful exit, and Bolt dashed out of the way as the last of the house came crashing down.</p><p> </p><p>In front of him was a dilapidated fireplace, with a still-intact chimney. Contained within the structure was a heavily-rusted metal bowl. Inexplicably, Bolt could suddenly, vividly smell a delicious stew being cooked, even though this kitchen hadn’t been used in decades.</p><p> </p><p>He could hear a child laughing behind him, and a short ghostly figure, seemingly female, phased straight through him and ran towards the kitchen.</p><p> </p><p>“Dinner’s ready, little one!” A woman’s voice called out of nowhere.</p><p> </p><p>The woman Bolt had seen downstairs appeared in front of the child’s ghost. She made motions to pass an invisible bowl of stew to the little girl, and she happily walked over to an empty space that must have once held a table and chair. Before she started eating, the ghost-girl vanished along with her mother, and the smell of the stew petered out.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that answers the question of whether this place is haunted…” Bolt told himself, “It’s really sad that these people are dead… Now they’re stuck here for who knows how long…”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt suddenly remembered his best friend. “Uh-oh. Keeper!”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt dashed out of the ruined house and looked around. “Keeper!?”</p><p> </p><p>His dragon companion was nowhere to be found.</p><p> </p><p>“Keeper!!” Bolt screamed.</p><p> </p><p>He went cold with dread. <em>This is my fault,</em> He realized, <em>I made him come here, now the ghosts made him vanish!</em></p><p> </p><p>Bolt ran through the village, shining his flashlight all over the place, searching for his friend.</p><p> </p><p>He reached the area they had entered the village through. Keeper wasn’t there.</p><p> </p><p>“KEEPER!!”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt fell to his knees and shed a tear. <em>He can’t be gone… He can’t!</em></p><p> </p><p>“Are you lost?” A child’s voice asked from behind him.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt turned around and saw a little boy’s ghost, staring at him with a quizzical expression. He stared back at him, not sure how to respond.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you lost?” The ghost repeated.</p><p> </p><p>“What did you do with my friend?” Bolt asked the ghost.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, we all get lost sometimes,” The ghost said, seemingly not registering what Bolt had asked him, “Follow me, I’ll show you the way!”</p><p> </p><p>The ghostly boy skipped ahead of Bolt down a path leading to what was once the town square. He began humming a tune, as carefree as can be.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He’s so… Happy. It’s like he doesn’t know he’s dead…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Bolt cautiously followed the ghost towards the square. He stepped on something on his way there. He looked down at his feet, and saw that he was standing on a sign, long ago knocked over and buried beneath some leaves.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>WELCOME TO PASSAGE</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>The town’s name was “Passage…” </em>Bolt commented in his head.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, sir? What are you waiting for?” The ghost waved at him from the square, beckoning him to follow.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt proceeded to the center of the town. “Okay, kid. I’m here. Now <em>please</em> tell me what you did with my friend!”</p><p> </p><p>The boy tilted his head in confusion. “I didn’t see you come here with anyone else.”</p><p> </p><p>Now Bolt got a little angry. “You couldn’t <em>possibly</em> have missed him! My friend is a <em>Desert Dragon!”</em></p><p> </p><p>The ghost’s eyes widened. “A-a dragon!? W-why would you be friends with a dragon!? They eat people!”</p><p> </p><p>“Not this one. He likes humans, and he’s my very best friend! I can’t live without him!”</p><p> </p><p>The boy looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry you lost your friend…”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t play with me on that! <em>Someone</em> in this village made him disappear, and you people <em>need</em> to bring him back!”</p><p> </p><p>The boy started to look scared. “I-I don’t know who did that… It wasn’t me!”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt suddenly felt sorry for him. The boy’s spirit had no idea what was going on, even after being trapped in his destroyed village for a <em>very</em> long time. It could be considered a fate worse than death.</p><p> </p><p>“Look, I’m sorry for getting mad at you. Do you know where your parents are?”</p><p> </p><p>The ghost nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Could you take me to them please?”</p><p> </p><p>“Follow me,” He said, and he began walking towards the east side of the ruins.</p><p> </p><p>As they walked along the path, Bolt looked around. More ghosts were beginning to pop up around them. The place was haunted by dozens of them. Bolt wondered if they were all like this boy, not knowing exactly what happened to them. <em>You’d think you’d remember something as important as your own death…</em> Bolt thought.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s your name?” Bolt asked the ghost.</p><p> </p><p>“My name? It’s… It’s…” The ghost shrunk with confusion, “That’s funny… I can’t remember it.”</p><p> </p><p>Now Bolt felt even sorrier. <em>He’s been stuck in this hell for so long he doesn’t even remember who he is anymore… There’s gotta be a way to help him...</em></p><p> </p><p>The boy led him to a collapsed house, then promptly phased through the splintered, decayed wood and into the ruin.</p><p> </p><p>“Uhh, wait! I can’t follow you in there!”</p><p> </p><p>No response from the boy. Bolt looked around the ruin and found that there was a short opening in it, big enough for him to crawl through. This would be very risky… One wrong move and he’d be trapped under the wreckage with no way out. But he didn’t have a choice… Not if he wanted to save Keeper.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt got down on his knees and slithered into the opening. He crawled through, disturbing some bugs and spiders as he went. Eventually he reached an opening, and he got up inside what seemed to be a room in the middle of the house that had survived the collapse of the rest of the structure.</p><p> </p><p>A dull scent of smoke hung over the room. A destroyed, barely-recognizable bed sat in the corner, with what seemed to be a dresser nearby that had been long ago crushed by debris. Bolt looked up, and immediately regretted his decision. The ceiling was an absolute wreck, ready to come down at any moment. Water dripped from it, creating a small puddle on the rotten wood floor, which had tatters of what was once a rug laid out on it.</p><p> </p><p>“Kid? You here?”</p><p> </p><p>The boy apparition materialized on the bed, causing Bolt to realize this must have been <em>his</em> bedroom once upon a time.</p><p> </p><p>“Mom? Dad?” The ghost called out, “There’s someone here who wants to see you!”</p><p> </p><p>To Bolt’s shock, two ghosts walked through a collapsed doorframe into the bedroom. Predictably, they were a male and a female, obviously the child’s parents when they had been alive.</p><p> </p><p>“Who are you?” The father ghost asked.</p><p> </p><p>“My name is Bolt. I’m looking for my dragon.”</p><p> </p><p>He looked at the boy ghost. “Son, go into the kitchen.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure thing, dad!” The child ran through wreckage and went out of sight.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Your</em> dragon?” The mother asked, “I find it hard to believe you have a dragon.”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s my friend,” Bolt explained, “I don’t want to lose him!”</p><p> </p><p>The father looked at Bolt, seemingly <em>through</em> Bolt. “You are like us… But also not like us. You are a human from very far away…”</p><p> </p><p>“My people call themselves Terrans. We’re trying to establish peace between humans and dragons.”</p><p> </p><p>“The dragons are a curse,” The man said, “All they know is how to destroy. They ended our lives without a second thought.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>So this ghost is aware of what happened to him…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Please understand… Keeper, my dragon, is <em>not</em> like the dragons who killed you! He would never hurt any of you!”</p><p> </p><p>The man stared through him again. “I can see in your heart that you are telling the truth. I will say I never anticipated a friendly dragon when I made my dying wish over this town.”</p><p> </p><p>“Say what now?”</p><p> </p><p>“These grounds are protected from dragons,” The woman said, “Any who set foot here under the glow of the Moons will never see the light of day again.”</p><p> </p><p><em>So that’s the curse…</em> Bolt realized.</p><p> </p><p>“Is there any way to bring back Keeper? Please, he’s my best friend!”</p><p> </p><p>“I might be inclined to break my curse… But there’s something I want you to do to earn your ‘friend’ back.”</p><p> </p><p>“What is it? I’ll do anything!”</p><p> </p><p>“I want you to face your worst fear. I want you to overcome the thing that terrifies you most. Prove to us that your friendship with your dragon is greater than your weaknesses.”</p><p> </p><p>“I kinda already did that,” Bolt said, “Wasn’t that what the Black Buck downstairs was doing?”</p><p> </p><p>“That was merely a trial… To see if you were capable of rising above your fears. Now… We will see whether you can truly defeat the one you call… The Black Buck.”</p><p> </p><p>------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Before his eyes, the scene shifted, and Bolt found himself in a forest clearing lit by triple-moonlight. He found that he was holding an ornate, gold-inlaid greatsword in place of his flashlight. Surrounding him were all the ghosts living in the village, spectating on the battle about to take place. He could see the little boy in the front. The ghost waved at him, as if to wish him good luck.</p><p> </p><p>Then Bolt turned around and was confronted with the terror of his childhood.</p><p> </p><p>He readied his stance and went through his standard procedure of scanning his opponent for weak points. Suddenly, the Buck charged with frightening speed, giving Bolt barely any time to dodge. As he slid to the side, he managed to inflict a small cut on the Buck’s flank.</p><p> </p><p>Immediately the big deer did an about-face and charged him once more. This time he didn’t have enough room to dodge, and Bolt was caught on the Buck’s antlers, his shirt getting ripped open by the sharp points.</p><p> </p><p>“Gaah!!” Bolt screamed. He swung down on the deer’s back with the sword, but the muscle and bone in its back was too dense for the blade to penetrate.</p><p> </p><p>The Black Buck began to run, with Bolt stuck to its antlers, towards a wall of spikes that had materialized behind him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Great, it’s reenacting my nightmare, only this time there’s no waking up!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>With seconds to spare, Bolt tore the rest of his shirt open and fell off of the Buck’s head, and rolled to the side out of the way of the galloping cervine. Bolt got up and sprinted away from it and plotted his next move.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I can’t afford to mess up now, if those antlers get me again they’ll end up piercing my skin!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The monster deer turned around and predictably started charging him again. Bolt dodged fluidly and landed another slash into its side.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Wait a minute… I made up the Black Buck! That means I know all its moves! And its next move is…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The deer ran up to him, opened its mouth, and prepared to take a bite out of Bolt’s exposed chest.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that one,” Bolt said out loud. With a yell he shoved the sword down the Black Buck’s throat, jamming its jaw open…</p><p> </p><p>But it still didn’t die.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt tried to pull the sword out of the Buck’s mouth but found that it was stuck there.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Shit.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Bolt, now weapon-less, jumped back from the deer and he wondered how he was going to defeat it.</p><p> </p><p><em>What am I doing wrong?” </em>He wondered. <em>The man said I had to face my fears…</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>FACE MY FEARS…!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Bolt looked at the monstrosity his fearful, childish mind had created one dark and frightening night. He wondered if he really should be scared by something that obviously didn’t exist. He was a grown adult now.</p><p> </p><p><em>Why </em>am<em> I scared of the Black Buck?</em></p><p> </p><p>Bolt had let his guard down by entering an introspective state, and as he began to think, he was forced backward and he cried out as a searing-hot pain exploded in his chest. Bolt looked down…</p><p> </p><p>And noticed he had been impaled through the heart by the Black Buck.</p><p> </p><p>He quickly began to weaken, his eyes struggling to stay open. Bolt’s life flashed before his eyes, and when he got to the part where he watched his parents die, he realized something.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>My parents were killed by dragons for their meat… Just like I’ve killed so many deer for theirs. My whole life was a living nightmare because of Crimson’s desire for human flesh. What if I’ve been projecting regret for killing deer for the same reason… Into…?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Bolt looked down at the monster, whose bony antlers were buried deep in his tender flesh.</p><p> </p><p><em>I’ve been filling up the Black Buck with the feelings I felt about losing my loved ones. To it… </em>I’m<em> Crimson!</em></p><p> </p><p>“Black Buck…” Bolt began to address his fear directly, “Please listen to me.”</p><p> </p><p>The deer shook its head around, causing Bolt’s blood to splatter out of the multiple wounds it had inflicted, and Bolt screamed in agony.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt overcame his pain and blurted out: “You’re angry at me for killing your parents. I totally understand that! I know how you feel because it’s how <em>I </em>feel! We’re exactly alike!”</p><p> </p><p>The Buck glared into Bolt’s half-lidded eyes. Bolt was beginning to slip into permanent unconsciousness from a pierced heart. He’d have to be quick.</p><p> </p><p>“But there’s something I learned about revenge on my journeys. Sure, it’ll feel good to make someone pay for their mistakes… But it won’t undo the past. Our parents are gone… And they aren’t coming back.”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt was barely holding himself together. With the last of his strength, Bolt placed his hand on the Buck’s forehead.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, Black Buck… I’m so sorry…”</p><p> </p><p>The deer looked up at Bolt. Tears filled its eyes, and it lowered its head, causing Bolt’s feet to touch the ground. The sword disappeared from its mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“I was so scared of you because I felt like I made myself into the same monster that killed my parents in order to survive… All my regrets were poured into you… But I’ve come to terms with my parents’ deaths… And I think it’s time you did too.”</p><p> </p><p>The Buck set Bolt down on his back and pulled its antlers out of his body. It leaned over his chest, and its tears began to drip onto Bolt’s body. To his amazement, the tears had a healing effect, the wounds on his chest closing up almost by magic.</p><p> </p><p>Bolt had made peace with his demons… He stood up and placed his hand on the Buck’s forehead again. It nuzzled his palm. Bolt put his leg up and mounted the deer.</p><p> </p><p>“Take me to Keeper,” he told it.</p><p> </p><p>The Black Buck took off at a gallop out of the clearing. The wind whipped through Bolt’s hair and his scarf started to fly behind him like a flag declaring his freedom from the pain of the past. Behind him he could hear the ghosts cheering, and soon, the Buck entered a tunnel.</p><p> </p><p>The Buck dashed along, and Bolt leaned down and lovingly caressed its fur. He looked ahead of him and saw a bright light at the end of the tunnel. The Buck stopped right before it, and Bolt got off its back.</p><p> </p><p>“I think it’s time for me to let you go…” Bolt told the big deer.</p><p> </p><p>The Black Buck and Bolt gave each other accepting looks, and then…</p><p> </p><p>The Buck turned around, and retreated back into the woods.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It’ll always be a part of me… And I’m okay with that now.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Bolt turned towards the light… And left the tunnel to reunite with his friend.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>--------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>“Bolt!” Keeper yelled with delight, as his human rushed up from a hole in the ground and hugged his leg.</p><p> </p><p>“Keeper!” He shouted back, his tear-streaked face buried in his scales, “I’m so glad you’re okay!”</p><p> </p><p>“What are you talking about, Bolt? You were only gone for a couple minutes.”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>He let go of Keeper and looked around. They were back in the ruined village, but there were no ghosts in sight.</p><p> </p><p>“Where’d everyone go…?”</p><p> </p><p>“There’s no ghosts here, Bolt. We should go home. It’s getting really late.”</p><p> </p><p>Bolt looked down at his chest. His shirt was back, completely undamaged.</p><p> </p><p>“Keeper, didn’t you see…?”</p><p> </p><p>“See what?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uhh, never mind.”</p><p> </p><p>The dragon and human left the village ruins. Bolt looked behind him as he left.</p><p> </p><p>The ghost boy was standing there with a huge smile on his face and waving goodbye at him.</p><p> </p><p><em>I’ll never forget you people…</em> Bolt promised himself as he waved back at him,<em> And someday, I’ll find a way to let you all pass on in peace.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>THE END</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>